It's that time of year again: time for companies to examine their current employee benefits and consider
their options for increasing value - preferably without increasing cost. This year, such decisions are further
complicated (and made more challenging) by a global pandemic. Unsurprisingly, many companies are focusing on tools to help employees stay mentally and emotionally healthy
while they engage in social distancing to protect their physical health. More and more employers are
expanding employee benefits for virtual healthcare (telehealth) and increasing access to programs that will
help improve and maintain employees' mental health and well-being. When weighing the options, an organization may want to know what other companies are choosing as benefit
priorities. Not every trend will fit that organization's needs, but this knowledge will help it remain
competitive in its market for both retention and recruitment purposes. Here are some of the most common
benefits trends that businesses across all industries are pursuing for 2021. (Note that each option can be
customized and scaled to meet the needs of that particular organization and workforce.) Telehealth options have been expanding for years, with both healthcare providers and health insurance
carriers offering consumers the option to seek nonemergency care for minor illnesses from the comfort of
their own homes. Stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, and social distancing requirements have had a profound
impact on people seeking in-person medical treatment, and some telehealth platforms have seen significant
jumps in their activity since the pandemic began. To address a clearly rising need, in 2021 "nearly all
employers will offer telehealth services for minor, acute services, while 91 percent will also offer
telemental health."1 Since April 2020, the pandemic has led to heightened rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts
among U.S. citizens. Many employers recognize the increased need to support their employees during this time
and are looking for health plans that incorporate more mental health benefits. Open enrollment for 2021 is
seeing a strong resurgence of interest in employee assistance programs (EAPs), especially those that include
behavioral health counseling. More and more employers are providing their employees with access to online
mental health resources, including apps, videos, and articles. Before the pandemic, some state and local governments already had their own paid sick leave mandates in
place. In the wake of the passage of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in March 2020, however,
more state legislatures across the country are reevaluating their own proposals for paid sick leave. In
Wisconsin, for example, state law does not require employers to provide paid sick leave, but several bills
on that topic have been introduced in previous years, and it is likely that there will be a resurgence in
discussion about this in the near future. Many employers are also examining their accrued paid time off (PTO) policies and rethinking caps, payouts,
and separate sick days. For years, the trend has been to do away with separate sick days and vacation days
and combine the hours into one PTO bank. The unintended result has been that many employees choose to report
to work sick rather than "waste" a vacation day. Until now the biggest concern was that they'd spread the
common cold and the flu in the workplace, but with COVID-19 putting worker safety at much greater risk, some
employers have reverted to distinguishing sick days from PTO and encouraging employees to stay home when
they are ill. Some employers are also looking more closely at offering unlimited PTO to avoid caps and carryover and to
eliminate payouts. At the same time, other companies are allowing employees to donate their excess PTO to
fellow employees who need additional time off. The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially challenging for working parents. With many childcare centers closed
and many public schools teaching their students virtually, working parents must make some difficult
decisions about work and childcare. To help alleviate working parents' stress at home, some employers are
upping the ante on childcare benefits so parents can be more focused and productive at work. Some
organizations are providing onsite daycare in the workplace, and others are providing virtual activities to
keep kids busy at home while their parents are working remotely. Another growing trend is for employers to
provide tutoring sessions (either in-person and online) to help their employees' kids study and finish
homework. The pandemic has people worried about their financial well-being. Concern about risks to their employment
status, threats to their income and long-term savings plans, mounting debt, stock market volatility, and the
pandemic's impacts on 401(k) retirement plans is raising everyone's stress levels. Many employers are
providing optional benefits, such as additional life or disability insurance, as well as offering resources
and education to help employees reduce their stress and enhance their financial well-being. Some programs
include educational sessions on general topics such as reducing debt, and others include complimentary
meetings with financial advisors. A few companies have opted to solve their PTO conundrum and financial
stress in one fell swoop by allowing employees to directly apply a PTO payout to student loan debt. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are likely to persist for some time, and their final outcome remains
unknown. One thing is certain, though: employers who take a proactive approach to helping employees through
this time will be in a better position to move forward. By building a better benefits package and investing
in its employees' future, a company will have a workforce that is not only more loyal but also healthy and
ready for work. 1 Business Group on Health. 2020. "Large U.S. Employers Accelerating Adoption of Virtual Care,
Mental Health Services for 2021, Business Group on Health Survey Finds." Business Group on Health website,
August 18, www.businessgrouphealth.org/en/who-we-are/newsroom/press-releases/large-us-employers-accelerating-adoption-of-virtual-care-mental-health-services-for-2021.
Telehealth and Virtual Health Care
Mental Health Programs
Paid Sick Leave and PTO
Childcare Assistance
Financial Health
What's Next?